Cancrusher,
Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I was out of town, and my internet access was just enough to post roll.
Your post raised a good question, and one that I had intended to ask the members of KTC for their advice. What do you say to your spouse when you quit, when she didn't know you had the problem in the first place?
Well, I went ahead and told her this last weekend. We were on a family vacation, having a ton of fun and relaxing, entirely free from the normal stress of quotidian life. I decided that then would have been as good a time as any.
So I told her the truth... that I had had a nasty habit for the three years that we were married, that I hid it from her because I was embarrassed/ashamed, and that I had just recently quit.
She was upset, to be sure, but not fly-off-the-handle-get-ready-to-have-your-eyeballs-scratched-out upset. Just disappointment. But, she was also glad that I was quit. She asked if that explained my mood this past week, being irritable, short-tempered, etc. I said that it probably had something to do with it.
Anyways, I am glad I told her. Even if her reaction had been worse, I would still be glad. I was tired of lying to her about my habit, but it would have still been lying if I hadn't told her that I had taken up a new habit - Quitting.